To be in debt is never the intention of spending extended credit yet is often the enduring outcome. Debt can be accrued through a variety purchases including a car loan, credit card purchases, medical bills, and student loans among others. For many individuals and families – debt is a way of life. When debt becomes unmanageable though and bills go unpaid and collection calls ensue– it can get in the way of life. If your debt situation has reached an uncontrollable point, it’s important to know your rights.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
Regardless of how or why an account goes into collection, one must work directly with the agency to then manage their accounts. During this process consumers are afforded certain government rights under The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).
What is the FDPCA?
The FDCPA is designed to protect consumers from unfair, unethical, abusive and illegal bill collection practices, as well as provide guidelines for collection agencies seeking to collect legitimate debts (in addition, some states have similar laws that may cover a broader range of debt collection conduct).
The collection process is a controlled one. Attempts to collect a debt can be done in person, via mail, phone (only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m., unless you agree that calls at other times are acceptable), fax or telegram. After the initial contact, the agency must then send you written notice advising you of the creditor, amount owed and action to take if believe you do not owe the money. By request, they must also provide you with proof of the debt, i.e. copy of the bill, etc.
The FDCPA also encompasses a wide range of prohibited actions by collection agencies.
For example, threatening you with arrest or imprisonment for non-payment of debts, misrepresenting the amount of debt, attempting to collect interest charges or fees not permitted in your initial sales agreement and using insults, obscenities or racial slurs are all prohibited.
Other restrictions include harassment in the form of repeated calls at work (if you previously asked them not to), or if they know your employer does not allow collection calls. Likewise, they may not inform your employer why they are calling, unless the employer was asked beforehand.
Additional FDCPA restrictions include:
• Giving any impression that the person contacting you is an attorney, works for a credit bureau or is a government representative.
• Threatening to sue to garnish wages or seize personal property, without intention or legal right to do so.
• Discussing your debts and other personal information without your consent. This does not include contacting an account co-signer or other person to obtain your contact information (phone numbers, address, place of business).
• Prematurely depositing post-dated checks from you.
• Continuing to contact you if you are represented by legal counsel.
Your Legal Solutions:
If you believe your rights have been violated by a collector, there are several relief options available.
One is to contact the Federal Trade Commission (877-FTC-HELP) for information or to file a complaint. Another option is to sue in state or federal court within one year from the date any law/s was violated.
The easiest way to avoid the above scenarios is to take care of any outstanding debts before subjected to collection. However, if the latter happens, there are structures in place to uphold your rights as a consumer.
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Tags: Credit Card Debt, Credit Help, Debt Collection, Debt Consolidation, Debt Relief, Foreclosure, Personal Finance
This entry was posted on Thursday, June 18th, 2009 at 5:44 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the Post RSS Feed.
